Comparison May Not Always Be the Thief of Joy

Theodore Roosevelt once said that "Comparison is the thief of joy," and I'm pretty sure someone quoted him in a General Conference talk, which might explain why I've heard this quote before. Taking that quote completely out of whatever context it once had, I wonder if that statement holds true in all cases. Of course, comparing yourself against someone with better numbers than you isn't going to make you happy. Comparing yourself to someone with worse numbers than you isn't much better, as any happiness you might get from that would have to stem from the worse aspect of pride. Yet, I think there is at least one situation in which comparison can bring legitimate joy: Comparing your improved self against your past self. Done carefully, making this comparison can help you realize how far you've come since then, which can give you a healthy kind of pride in your accomplishments. That may not be quite the same thing as "joy" by the Gospel definition, but it's close enough for laymans terms. In general, and in most contexts, the statement is true, but if the comparison is happening against the right person, at the right time, for the right reason, that comparison does not necessarily have to be a thief of joy.